Pope Francis dampens progressive hopes by refusing to ordain married men in the Amazon
(OPINION) How progressive is Pope Francis? Not as much as many may think.
In a surprise move, Francis rejected a proposal on Wednesday that had called for married men in remote areas of the Amazon to serve as priests, a decision widely seen as a victory for conservative Catholics who feared such an exception would eventually lift the celibacy requirement of clergy around the world.
The pope, the first ever from Latin America, also rejected a proposal that would have allowed women to serve as deacons, an even more momentous change within the church’s traditionally male hierarchy that in many ways would have had a bigger impact on the faith than ordaining married men.
The pope’s rejection of an Amazonian rite came three months after bishops at the controversial Pan-Amazonian Synod had made several recommendations to the pontiff. The big change would have included allowing community elders to perform Mass and other duties of ordained celibate Catholic clergy in order to deal with the shortage of Roman Catholic priests in South America.
In Francis, progressives have (or thought they had) their man — someone who says he’s unafraid to tinker with church tradition. That has drawn the ire of conservative Catholics, many of them living in the United States and parts of Europe, who see this papacy as an opponent. The Pan-Amazonian synod, a three-week meeting at the Vatican, was fraught with controversy. The inclusion of Pachamama statues during Mass angered traditionalists and even resulted in someone tossing them into Rome’s Tiber River that runs near the Vatican.
Indeed, the potential decision to loosen the 1,000-year Roman rite in any way would have further divided conservative and progressive factions within the global church. Progressives had pushed for the change, an example of how the church can change with the times and show flexibility in order to serve Catholics better.
Catholic traditionalists, on the other hand, were afraid this could have opened the door for other changes they deemed radical by tossing aside centuries of church teachings and traditions. Instead, Francis surprised everyone. In rejecting the proposal, this pontiff sent a message that he wants to unify Catholics and not divide them.
These divisions had, in part, been fueled by Francis’ own rhetoric regarding some church teachings over the last seven years of his papacy. Experts were widely quoted over the last few months pointing to the very real possibility that Francis would approve the recommendations. By rejecting the proposal, Francis is saying that he wants his papacy to be less about making changes and more about refocusing efforts on issues such as helping the poor.
Lifting the celibacy requirement had also divided the church further after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had also chimed in, saying he did not support such a decision. What Francis did call Catholics to do is pray for more priestly vocations and support the work of more missionaries to the region.
Cardinal Gerhard Muller, a doctrinal conservative often at odds with this pope, called the 40-page post-synod document by Francis a move towards “reconciliation.”
Francis’ allies and much mainstream coverage of the decision, on the other hand, was loaded with disappointment.
CNN, in a story posted to its website, reported:
Instead, Francis' highly anticipated document on the Amazon region, Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon) focuses mostly on cultural and environmental issues. Francis spices the 32-page document with plenty of poetry, but offers few, if any, pragmatic changes for the church.
The lack of an opening for married priests, or women deacons, is expected to disappoint the Pope's liberal supporters, particularly in the Americas and Europe.
“People are starting to adjust their expectations,” said Massimo Faggioli, a church historian at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. “The major reforms they were expecting of him may never come.”
The New York Times, one of the first news outlets to report on the pope’s decision, said:
The pope’s supporters had hoped for revolutionary change. But the decision, coming seven years into his papacy, raised the question of whether Francis’ promotion of discussing once-taboo issues is resulting in a pontificate that is largely talk.
His closest advisers have already acknowledged that the pope’s impact has waned on the global stage, especially on core issues like immigration and the environment. His legacy, they have said, will ultimately reside inside the church where his authority is absolute.
The Associated Press took a similar tone, reporting:
Francis’ dodging of the issue disappointed progressives, who had hoped he would at the very least put it to further study. And it relieved conservatives who have used the debate over priestly celibacy to heighten opposition to the pope, whom some have accused of heresy.
The document, “Beloved Amazon,” is instead a love letter to the Amazonian rain forest and its indigenous peoples, penned by history’s first Latin American pope. Francis has long been concerned about the violent exploitation of the Amazon’s land, its crucial importance to the global ecosystem and the injustices committed against its peoples.
These stories all have the common thread of disappointment in them. This snapshot isn’t coming from the many experts quoted, but from the tone that show an overall letdown by a pontiff who has become a media superstar in recent years. The Times, in saying Francis’ pontificate is “largely talk,” reveals this disappointment. It’s true that this pope can talk about the ecological disaster in South America, but that doesn’t really have any theological ramifications.
It’s true that the pope had called for “bold” proposals to address the crisis in the Amazon. It’s also true that the focus on climate change could anger those on the political right. What is bold, however, is that this pope has decided to get back to basics and refocus his energies on what the church can do to help those most in need.
This is not a defeat for progressives or a win for conservatives. It should not be seen this way. It is a win for the entire church. After all, what’s at stake is Francis’ legacy (he doesn’t want a schism on his record), but also the future of the church and the good it can do in the world.
Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City.